iam4-1god

Q5. (Romans 8:18-25) In what sense do we expect to experience God's glory when Christ comes? How will the suffering creation experience God's glory? How will our mortal bodies experience God's glory? In what way will our spirits experience God's glory? The Word says that we will be like Jesus. We will see a new Heaven and a new Earth. When we are saved all things become new. When Jesus comes, all things will be new. All things-even our bodies! I don't understand all of it, but I know that I will be in God's presence, and there will be no sin. There will be no sickness or disease. No murder, or robbery. It will be glorious!!!! Who would not want this?!

Q4. (Romans 8:24-25) What are the characteristics of a person who has lost hope? How does this person typically conduct his life? How does this differ from a person who holds an eager expectation of a better future? What is the "Christian hope"? How should it motivate us and affect our lives now? Just look around you-people are in a hurry to go nowhere. Make money-have fun. Fill their lives full of all the very best that life has to offer. Life has to offer. Think about that. We, as children of God and joint-heirs with Christ, are waiting for a better life that can be found in knowing Jesus, and taking what He freely offers. When we do, then we will live according to someone who has everything that Jesus has to offer! Abundant life, sin-free life, no pain, no tears, no sickness-now that, my brother and sister, is life! Gloray to God!!!! We will have it in Eternity, and no one will be able to take it away from us!

Q3. (Romans 8:26-27) How does the Holy Spirit act as a Helper or Mediator or Intercessor in verses 26-27? What similarities do you see between the Holy Spirit's ministry here with Jesus' teaching of the Spirit's ministry as Counselor/Comforter/Paraclete in John 14:16 and 15:26)? Why do you think we tend to take the Holy Spirit for granted or fail to understand His ministry to and through us? The Holy Spirit checks our hearts and knows what and how we suffer-He knows us better than we know ourselves. He can express our needs so much better than we can. I think that The Holy Spirit works along side of Jesus when dealing with our prayers. The Spirit translates to Jesus, and Jesus takes the translation to The Father. I think some people have trouble with believing that The Spirit is real, or that He is on our side. We are bombarded with evil spirits in movies, when we are with our peers, etc., and so whenever The Spirit of God is mentioned, some people freak out. In the case of believers, I think that we feel more comfortable with believing that Jesus and God the Father are with us, and The Spirit gets put on the backburner, which is really sad. The Spirit is here with us to give us the strength, courage, and knowledge that we need to get through whatever it is that we are experiencing. We need The Spirit just as much as we need Jesus and The Father.

Q2. (Romans 8:17-22) In what ways was suffering Jesus' lot in life? Why do we suffer? Why does all creation seem to be suffering? What will signal the end of that downward cycle of suffering, decay, and death? Is there anything good to look forward to in this present life? Jesus came to Earth in flesh, and suffered all the things that humanity suffers, so that He could understand our groanings and complaints. Then whenever He talks to The Father on our behalf, He can know what we are experiencing and plead our case accordingly. We suffer because we have not been delivered yet from this sin-riddled world. We, along with everything that God made, are deteriorating, and waiting for deliverance We look forward to being taken to be with Jesus, and all of God's creation will eventually be delivered and/or recreated to be the way it was meant to be in the first place.

Q1. In Romans 8:14-21, 28, how many times is the idea of being sons and daughters of God alluded to? What are the promises made to these sons and daughters? What do we learn about our future and our role in the future of all creation? Nine times are we referred to as the sons of God. We are promised full heirship-all that is God's is ours through Jesus. We can call God our Father, and cry out to Him as such. We will suffer trials and temptations because we are the sons of God. We have The Spirit living in us, and because of this, we know that we are joint heirs with Christ. Our spirit bears witness with The Spirit of God that we are the sons of God! Blessed assurance! Gloray! Our future is glorious! We are being prepared for a life that we cannot even begin to imagine with our pea brains! Oh, how I long for the time!

Q6. (Romans 8:15-16) How does the Holy Spirit inspire us to pray 'Abba, Father'? What is the significance of us referring to God as our Dad? What happens in our lives if we don't have some kind of personal assurance of our salvation? How do we receive this kind of personal assurance? I know that I am saved, because I have the assurance of God's Word that tells me I am. Also, I can feel it in my spirit whenever I pray-I know that God is with me. He is listening to me. I just know. I can't describe it, but it is wonderful! Without that assurance, life would be intolerable. To know what I know now, and not have the realization that I am saved-well, I couldn't go on. We receive this personal assurance when we give our hearts and lives to God. If we are being real, then God will be real with us. He knows if we are sincere.

Q5. (Romans 8:13-14) What does it mean to "mortify" or "put to death" the deeds of the body by the Spirit? What would it look like to watch a person do this? What does it mean to be "led" by the Spirit? What does this look like in actual practice? How do "putting to death" and being "led" by the Spirit fit together? How much of this is the Spirit and how much is us? We make a conscious decision to be led by The Spirit. We no longer are concerned about the things of the flesh. I went through this when I quit smoking. It was awful! But I made the choice to stop, and I cried, and begged God to deliver me from nicotine addiction. I didn't want to do it anymore. So, God delivered me from the addiction, but satan attacked me like you wouldn't believe! I had a really bad attitude-no one could stand to be around me! And, I became ill. One illness right after another! But I told God that I did not want to go back. The end. Two months, so far. We have to be led by The Spirit, in order to make it through. We can't do anything without Him! No way! I don't know what the ratio is, but I know that I had to want to quit smoking-actually desire to quit. And-I never would be able to do anything unless I have The Spirit helping me. So, maybe it's teamwork on both our parts. I don't know. All I know is, The Bible says that without God, we can do nothing, and I firmly believe that!

Q4. (Romans 8:12) Do we have to sin? Are we compelled to sin? Is it possible to live for two hours of wakefulness without sinning? Four hours? One day? Two days? Where do we Christians get such a defeatist attitude towards sin? From Scripture? I can't speak for anyone but me, and I was taught that man will sin-it's the natire of the beast. Because we have an Advocate-Jesus-we can ask to be forgiven, and will be. I think sometimes I sin without knowing, and sometimes I sin without thinking about it. When I'm around younger people and they cuss, or tell a dirty joke, I sometimes snicker or smile, and then I have to correct myself, cause I know it's wrong to participate in these kinds of behavior. This includes asking God to forgive me, in Jesus' name. We should always be like the Bereans-search the Scriptures to see if we're being taught right.

Q3. (Romans 8:9) Is it possible to be a Christian without the Holy Spirit residing in us? What is the difference (if any) between the indwelling of the Spirit and the fullness of the Spirit? How do we remain "full" of the Spirit? I say no, because it is The Spirit that teaches us, and leads us in the right direction. Also, The Word says that if we don't have The Spirit, then we are not His. The indwelling of The Spirit is The Spirit living in us. The fullness of The Spirit is Those gifts that are given to us when we ask for them, such as speaking in tongues, prophecying, etc.

Q2. (Romans 8:5-6) Exactly what does it mean to set your mind on the things of the Spirit? How do you do this? How can you recognize when the things you're setting your mind on relate to your sinful nature? How much of this is deliberate? How much is habit? What part does the Holy Spirit have it this? Or is this primarily right living by force of will? When we are "walking in The Spirit" we are concentrating on the things that pertain to The Spirit. We can do this if we pray and ask for wisdom and knowledge, and if we study the Word, so that we will know what God wants us to do. Also, being receptive to the voice of The Spirit's teaching and leading, will be helpful in being obedient. We need to produce good fruit, and we can not do this if we are filling our minds with things that are not Godly. Music, tv, what sites we go to on the internet-these things can be very influential, and we need to be careful about what we give our attention to.

Q1. (Romans 8:3-4) Why can't obedience to the law save us? What is the weak link? What then does it take to save us? The law can only reveal our sinful nature to us. It has no power. It took Jesus to save us, because He was flesh like us, but, unlike us, He did not sin. He had the power to save us through His death on the cross. I am so glad He did this!

Q5. (Romans 7:14-25) Christians disagree about who is the "I" in Romans 7. Is Paul referring to himself or others? What is your opinion? (We won't all agree here, but we'll learn what the issues are by taking and arguing for a position -- lovingly). I believe that the "I" refers to all of us. Look, I know that Iam saved by grace through faith, and that The Spirit dwells in me. At the same time, I know that I am in a constant battle with my human side. My human side wants to be comfortable. It wants to look good. It wants to be pampered and well thought of. "I" wants to rule. But my spiritual side wants to do God's will. It wants to obey God. It wants to be in God's presence. For example, sometimes when I'm praying, I'll become distracted by other things. Or, I'll get drousy. Because I know that satan doesn't want me to pray, I shake it off, and keep talking, or I ask God to help me with this problem. We have to remember that it is not flesh that we are at war with. Ours is a spiritual battle.

Q4. (Jeremiah 17:9; Matthew 15:18-20; Romans 7:24) What is the doctrine of "total depravity"? Put it in your own words. Does it mean that none of God's original goodness shows through? Then what does it mean? Why does modern man tend to believe that man is basically good? How does this differ from what the Bible teaches? Total depravity is our natural ability to be bad. We, as humans, want to believe that we have good in us. But The Word says that there is none righteous, no not one. We are all sinners. After we are saved, we are sinners, saved by grace.

Q3. (Romans 7:12; 8:3) What does the law do well? What does it do poorly? Why is the law (knowing right and wrong) powerless to save us? What is the problem here? The real deal is this-the law shows us what is wrong and right, but only Jesus Christ can save us. We, in and of ourselves, are helpless to save ourselves. We can do nothing to help our situation. We must fall on our knees and accept what Jesus has done for us, and believe that we have what He offers. This is the only way to be truly forgiven, and then daily, ask Him for help. We must totally depend on Him.

Q2. (Romans 7:7-8) The law reveals sin for what it is. Why wouldn't we be better off just not knowing that we should not covet, for example? Why does the flesh respond to being told "Do not covet" by coveting all the more? I want to know what it is I'm doing wrong-I am in Christ. Before I got saved, I had man-made laws to tell me that I was doing wrong. If I broke a man-made law, I would be in trouble with the law. But now, I want to obey God, and when I don't, I can go to God through Jesus and be forgiven! Gloray! The flesh wants what the flesh wants. It doesn't like being told no. If someone says no you can't have that, well you want to prove that you can have that, and you set out to get it. Thus the phrase, "Everyone has a price".

Q1. (Romans 7:5) Paul uses the word "flesh" (or NIV "sinful nature") many times in chapters 7 and 8. In your own words, what does Paul mean by "flesh" in these verses? Flesh means that part of me that wants to do bad things. There is the flesh, or human part, and then there is the spirit part that wants to obey God.

Q1. (Romans 5:1-2) According to verses 1-2, faith is a key to salvation. For Abraham (4:3), what was the relationship between faith and justification? For us (5:1-2), what is the relationship between faith and justification? In your own words, just what does it mean to be justified? Because I believe in the work of the cross, and Jesus' sacrificial death, Iam fit for the Kingdom. Iam justified. Justified, to me, means acceptible to worship, to receive blessings, have prayers answered-not always the way I want, but answered, nonetheless.

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? There is a part of us that wants to be in the middle. That way, we can act accordingly, with respect to whomever we are "hanging out with". This way, we don't have to worry about stepping on toes, and we can "cut loose-have fun"! However, there is no middle with Christ. If we are really His, then we better be ready to tell the whole world, if necessary! For if we deny Him, then He will deny us. I don't want to be told, "Get away from Me-I don't know you"!

Q4. (Romans 6:17b) How does good doctrine affect the way we live? Why should we honor good doctrine? If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? If we study The Word like we should, then we will know what it says and we will obey. We have to study it for ourselves, so that we will know when the truth is being taught, and when a lie is being taught.

Q3. (Romans 6:15-18). What does obedience have to do with slavery? In what way does doing acts of righteousness demonstrate your slavery to God? In what ways does doing bad things demonstrate a slavery to sin? How is such a slavery or bondage broken? What part does obedience have in breaking this bondage? In what areas is God speaking to you about a fresh obedience in your life? We will obey the master of our lives. It is that simple. If your mind tells you that you want a strawberry shake, and you obey by going and getting one, then you have obeyed your mind-or flesh. If your consience tells you not to get a strawberry shake-it will cause you to gain weight-and you don't get one, then you have obeyed The Spirit within you. Whoever you obey-that is your master. We must be careful to listen to our Master, and block out all other voices. It's all part of spiritual warfare.

Q2. (Romans 6:13) In what ways do you "offer the members of your body" to either sin or God multiple times in a day? Why is it that we can sin unconsciously? How can we begin to offer our members deliberately to God? What changes will it take in our daily life to do this? Our thoughts can get us in great trouble! It only takes 1 subconsious thought to bring us under condemnation. We must always be on our guard in reguards to our thoughts and the things that we say. For, as soon as we turn our backs or let our guard down, we will find our members being influenced by the evil one. We must daily pray to God and ask Him to be in control of our members and our lives, and we must do this daily!

Q1. (Romans 6:12) What does obedience have to do with the "reign" of sin? We cannot serve two masters. We either are or are not Christians. If we obey Christ, then we are Christians. If we obey sin, then we are not. Sin tugs and tempts us continuously, but that doesen't mean that we have to give in.

Q1. (Romans 7:5) Paul uses the word "flesh" (or NIV "sinful nature") many times in chapters 7 and 8. In your own words, what does Paul mean by "flesh" in these verses? Flesh, or sinful nature, is that part of us that is human-selfish. It is that part that wants what it wants, no matter how bad the want is-no matter who gets hurt. It is that part of us that causes us to be separated from God. This is the part that the "law" speaks to.

Q5. (Romans 6:18-22) In Paul's analogy in these verses, is there a place of independent freedom apart from "slavery" to sin or to Christ? Why do we long for this kind of independent freedom? Why do we hesitate to firmly take sides and make our allegiance clear to all? It is very difficult, at times, to take sides when we are confronted with various sins. But there is no middle ground. We will either serve one master or the other. We really cannot have our cake and eat it, too. But, if we choose to obey the leading of The Spirit, and not sin, we won't only have cake, we will have a full banquet! I know The Word speaks of not looking at situations with the natural eye. When things get bad-when life looks as hopeless as we think it can get-we need to keep our eyes on God! He promises to help us. He promises to be with us, and never leave us. Though we walk through this valley of life, death, pain and suffering, we should not loose hope! For our hope is in God Almighty through Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior! Gotta go shout! Bye!

Q4. (Romans 6:17b) How does good doctrine affect the way we live? Why should we honor good doctrine? If we shouldn't look down on doctrine itself, what kind of teaching should we be avoiding? The good doctrine is the instruction for our conduct. If we study the Word, know what it says, and believe that it is so, then we will strive to pattern our lives accordingly. Then, when we hear something that is contrary to what we have studied, we can recognize it for what it is, and correct it, or avoid it. It is so important to read and study for ourselves! To know the truth, this is imperative!